The construction work Colorado Springs has been counting on — the City for Champions projects, road and infrastructure improvements, and apartment and home construction — is continuing despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
No one knows how long it will be able to proceed if things get worse. But for now, construction...

Robin Roberts, president and CEO of Pikes Peak National Bank, worked all weekend after the Small Business Administration opened up the new paycheck protection program loans for applications.
These loans are designed to incentivize small businesses to keep their workers on their payrolls, but the money also can be used...

Cybersecurity experts warn the scramble to stay afloat through the COVID-19 pandemic is leaving businesses open to cyber attacks that could cost them everything.
The crisis has unleashed a wave of cyber attacks, with hackers and scammers taking advantage of widespread chaos, anxiety and the sudden mass migration to remote...

By Bridgett Harris
As a leader invested in community-centered work, Keith Willschau has always been devoted to supporting the Pikes Peak region. His résumé reads like a who’s who of the region’s favorite nonprofits. He’s worked with the Trails and Open Space Coalition and the Rocky Mountain Field Institute —...

By Faith Miller
The latest unemployment figures stand as a stark reminder of how much we’re all hurting.
On April 2, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment announced that 61,583 initial unemployment claims were filed the week ending March 28.
For perspective: That’s eight times the number of claims filed the...

As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc on businesses across the country, the banking industry has had to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape full of borrowers and clients in crisis.
Many banks are offering relief to customers impacted by the pandemic. And since March 9, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation...

It’s hard for Valerie Terrill to predict what she’ll be doing on a day-to-day basis. Her job as community wealth management trust advisor for U.S. Bank has her tackling a variety of tasks and responding to her clients’ needs as they come up, which makes it sound like her...

Manufacturers buffeted by the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration two years ago are now dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. For some, it’s been a one-two punch.
In March 2018 President Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent levy on imported...

The Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act, signed March 27 by President Trump, contains $2 trillion worth of aid to Americans, including some $500 billion in loans and grants to help small businesses cope with the disruptions caused by COVID-19.
The new programs are being administered here by the...

When Humberto Rodriguez and his wife Elizabeth opened Pikes Liquor on March 13 — the day COVID-19 was declared a national emergency — they could hardly imagine the challenges that awaited them.
The day of their opening, which was planned long before the coronavirus brought the economy to a standstill,...

By Bridgett Harris
As a self-described Jill-of-all-trades, Jolie NeSmith brings an array of unique experience to her role as executive director of Pike Ride, Colorado Springs’ first and only nonprofit bike share program.
She’s opened restaurants, bartended, worked with at-risk youths and driven all over the southern half of Colorado as the...

I have been saying in my past five years of presentations that there is plenty of good news to go around and that if anything, the news just keeps getting better — especially for our city and state.
I would then joke that when we have a downturn, I am...